Infrastructure is not how Midtown should change

In Portland, Ore., there are neighborhoods so cozy that vehicles will pause for pedestrians at sections of the street where there is no crosswalk. Even if you hint like you’re about to cross  like a pump fake in football  drivers apply the brakes. I kid you not; I’ve seen it.

The recent Express-News article “S.A. plan envisions rebuilt Broadway on a new course” reminded me of those quaint Portland neighborhoods. The 20-year plan calls for a slimmer Broadway street, while reducing the speed limit and expanding the sidewalks. The city would provide the infrastructure and incentives (let the TIRZ go baby go) and the developers build the rest. But is it just me or does the plan seem too pushy, too forced?

I’m wondering if Midtown Brackenridge (as the area’s been coined) needs massive infrastructure change to be successful. For me, it’s like domesticating a wild animal. They want to take a thoroughfare (anti-pedestrian in nature) and whip it into South Alamo Street in Southtown. It can be done, but how would it feel? Would it feel loose and carefree like Southtown? Or would it feel forced like Houston Street has for much of the past 20 years?

If I were running the show, I’d put all of my energy into River North. And the city has paid a lot of attention to it. The Museum Reach has been a magnificent addition to the city’s urban landscape. And currently the city is preparing for an anticipated boom by designating certain River North structures historic while tweaking the RIO zoning districts. And so, building on that, the city eliminated River North’s TIRZ to be able to give a few million to Ed Cross’ 1221 Broadway. Chef Andrew Weissman is moving in along the Reach. And more apartment units are going into The Pearl.

Keep it going! Forget Broadway north of The Pearl for a few years. Maybe then River North’s growth momentum will spill into neighboring Midtown Brackenridge. And maybe then the massive undertaking won’t be necessary and drivers will eventually pause for pedestrians because they want to, not because they’re being told to.